CzechTek
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Type of DIY party | |
|---|---|
| Free party / Squat Party | Teknival |
| Freetekno | Sound System |
| Music Played at the Parties Also see Rave music |
|
| breakcore - dubstep - drum and bass - free tekno - gabba - jungle - psychedelic trance - speedcore - acid techno and techno | |
| Famous Parties | |
|
Castlemorton Common Festival - CzechTek - Stonehenge Free Festival - Reclaim the Streets |
|
CzechTek was [1] an annual teknival normally held on the weekend at the end of July in the Czech Republic. It attracted thousands of free tekno dancers from several European countries (40,000 people attended in 2003 and 2006). Open invitations were usually made to all soundsystems, performers and all human beings with positive thinking.
The first CzechTek was in 1994 [2] at Hostomice. Every year the festival was being held in different locations around the Czech Republic on the same date. The festival was not the same as more commercial festivals such as the Love Parade or the Street Parade. It was usually set on ex-military land or in a meadow near the forest. There was little or no organisation, since the idea of free tekno is based on personal freedom and responsibility, although later teknivals required organization due to large number of attendees. The style (or image) of the people was also different (from that the Love Parade's participants) - it was more underground. The location of the meeting was always revealed one day before the action on Czech rave websites.
The Czech media highly publicized the last two technivals of 2005 and 2006, which largely added to its demise since media it attracted many people that did not understand free tekno culture [3].
Contents |
[edit] History
| Date | Location | Number of people | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 July – ? 1994 | Hostomice pod Brdy | legal | 300 |
| 26 July - ? 1995 | Hostomice pod Brdy | legal | 300 |
| 26 – 28 July 1996 | Hostomice pod Brdy | legal | 1.500 |
| 25 – 27 July 1997 | Stará Huť near Dobríš | legal | 5.000 |
| 30 July – 4 August 1998 | Stará Huť near Dobríš | legal | 5.000 |
| 30 July - 4 August 1999 | Hradčany nad Ploučnicí near Ralsko | illegal | 5.000 |
| 28 July – 2 August 2000 | Lipnice near Třeboň | illegal | 10.000 |
| 27 – 30 July 2001 | Doksy | illegal | 10.000 |
| 26 – 31 July 2002 | Andělka near Višňová | legal | 20.000 |
| 25 July - 3 August 2003 | Letkov near Kopidlno | legal | 40.000 |
| 30 July – 3 August 2004 | Boněnov near Chodová Planá | illegal | 20.000 |
| 29 - 31 July 2005 | Mlýnec pod Přimdou | legal* | 5.000 |
| 27 – 30 July 2006 | Military Area Hradiště | legal | 40.000 |
[edit] CzechTek 2005
In 2005 shortly after the start, the CzechTek festival was broken up. The organizers of CzechTek have claimed to be permissed to set up the event around Mlynec, in the west of the country close to the German border. However police arrived with around 1,000 riot police using heavy equipment including tear gas, water cannons and the military BVP vehicle stating damage of private property. Allegedly in reaction one collector of army vehicles arrived with his own to see the other's response[citation needed]. The standoff between police and public resulted in one death among the public[citation needed], and approximately 30 civilians and 50 police injured. Protests arose outside the Czech interior ministry. The Czech president criticized the heavy use of police force. The Prime Minister, Jiří Paroubek, defended the action, stating that the techno fans were "not dancing children but dangerous people".[4]
Several months after the clash all charges against police were dropped[clarification needed][citation needed]. In April 2006, there was a march followed by a free party in Strasbourg, France to protest against police repression in general and against the actions of the Czech police in closing CzechTek in specific.
[edit] CzechTek 2006
On 14 June 2006 an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Defence and the Association of Czech Sound Systems [5]. The festival was held on land which was part of the Hradiště Military Region. It took place without any repeat of the previous year's violence.
[edit] References
- "Czech PM defends rave crackdown" BBC News, August 2, 2005, retrieved September 29, 2006
- "CzechTek 2006 to be Held Within the Hradiště Military Region" Czech Ministry of Defence, June 15, 2006, retrieved September 29, 2006
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2002
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2003
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2004
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2005
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2006
[edit] CzechTek 2005
- CzechTek 2005 Police and protests (English, Czech)
- CzechTek WebLog Czechtek 2005 & Police intervention (Czech)
- CzechTek 2005 News Events after Police intervention (English, Czech)
- CzechTek 2005 Photos Photos of Czechtek 2005
- Free4EuroAlternatives Protest in Strasbourg 2006
Articles:
- Czech freetekno party ended by police assault
- Techno festival turns to protest – Police, audience injuries show need for a tactics review, by Matt Reynolds, 3.8.2005, The Prague Post
